1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a sliding block guide for openable motor vehicle roofs, with a guideway which has one guide channel, and a sliding block which is movably guided in the guide channel along the guideway, the guideway being provided with at least one essentially linear guideway area and at least one bent guideway area.
2. Description of Related Art
Sliding block guides of this type are known among others from German Patent DE 100 33 887 C1 and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 6,568,750. In a first embodiment, a sliding block is permanently connected to respective carrier part and is essentially rhomboidal or cuboidal in the lengthwise cross section, its dimension in the horizontal direction being greater than its dimension in the vertical direction. The height (width) of an essentially horizontally running guideway area is matched to the vertical dimension of the sliding block, while the width of a guideway area, which runs steeply obliquely or vertically, corresponds to the horizontal dimension of the sliding block. In the transition area between these two guideway areas, the guideway width changes continuously from one value to the other. In a second embodiment, the sliding block has an oval shape in the lengthwise cross section and the guideway width is constant. In both cases, the curve handling capacity of the sliding block leaves something to be desired. The first embodiment is, moreover, structurally very complex.